BUDAPEST, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Hungary’s main opposition Tisza party kept a 10-point lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s governing nationalist Fidesz party in February, according to a poll published on Friday, ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for April 12.
Orban is facing the biggest challenge to his power since his Fidesz party came to power in a landslide victory in 2010, although the outcome remains uncertain.
Centre-right Tisza is led by former government insider Peter Magyar, who has said his party will tackle corruption, unlock billions of euros in frozen European Union funds to boost the economy and firmly anchor Hungary in the EU and NATO.
The latest poll, conducted between January 31 and February 6 by Idea Institute, found that 48% of decided voters backed Tisza while 38% supported Orban’s Fidesz, unchanged from the previous month.
Idea Institute also said in a post on its official Facebook page that the number of undecided voters had dropped by 3 percentage points to 24% in a month.
“In the past month, many voters found a party to support, and smaller parties were also able to benefit from that,” they said.
According to the survey, two more parties would win enough votes to enter parliament, as both the far-right Our Homeland (Mi Hazank) and left-wing Democratic Coalition (Demokratikus Koalicio) were supported by 5% of voters.
The April vote will have major implications for Europe and its far-right political forces. Orban, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has often clashed with the EU on a range of issues while maintaining cordial ties with Russia and criticising Ukraine.
The EU accuses Orban of eroding democratic values in Hungary, which he denies.
Most polls have shown Fidesz trailing Tisza despite voter-pleasing measures after three years of economic stagnation in Hungary, which has also endured the EU’s worst inflationary surge following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, pro-government pollsters show a Fidesz lead.
A February poll published also on Friday by the pro-government Nezopont Institute found that 46% of voters supported Orban’s Fidesz while 40% backed Tisza.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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